Small Magic for Small Hobbits
by Karri
Summary: Gandalf teaches some small magic to a small Hobbit.


"What are you doing?"

Gandalf peered out over his pipe at the small face peering up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm now, let's see…," he replied, as though to himself, rather than the child. "With that hair and those toes…why this must be young Bungo Baggins."

"I'm not Bungo Baggins," huffed the child. "But he is my papa." Then he seemed to recall that it was rude not to introduce oneself properly and nodded his head in a slight bow. "Bilbo Baggins, at your service, good sir."

"Very nice to meet, young Bilbo," Gandalf replied.

Before he could formally introduce himself in return, Bilbo repeated, "What are you doing with that?"

Gandalf stifled a chuckle and set his pipe aside to pick up a large clay jug that he'd been contemplating before the youngster's arrival. "I was just pondering whether to tell you a story or teach you a bit of magic."

Bilbo's mouthed opened into a silent ooooh, but then shifted into skepticism. "But what does either of those have to do with that jug?"

This time Gandalf laughed out loud, before ruffling Bilbo's curls, earning himself a glower. "I'll tell you what it has to do with this jug… Would you like to see me make a spark with this jug?"

"A spark? I can get a spark by knocking to rocks together," Bilbo said, unimpressed.

"Ah, well, yes," admitted Gandalf. "But this is a special, magical kind of spark… Would you like to see?" he asked, seeing the curiosity growing in the young eyes.

"Hmmm…I don't see how one spark could be different from another, but…okay," Bilbo answered hesitantly.

"Would you like to help make the spark?" Gandalf asked, and smiled as excited glee lit the small face. "Let's see now…" he murmured, picking up his pipe and giving it a long draw, and then letting the smoke out in a series of concentric circles, that seemed each to wait for the next, until they all met and then floated away. Gandalf smiled as the small face gazed with awe at the smoke, but Bilbo soon remembered the "magic" and refocused on the wizard. "Yes, now, I have the jug and…this." With a flourish, he pulled out a small cylinder from inside his robes.

"What's that?" Bilbo asked, rising up on his toes to better scrutinize the cylinder.

"Part of the magic, of course," explained Gandalf, handing Bilbo the cylinder so he could better study it.

"Part of the magic?" Bilbo asked, his skepticism returning.

"Indeed," replied Gandalf, quite seriously. "Magic does not happen all by itself, you know." He bit back a smile as the child's eyebrows rose slightly with interest. "You must have the proper tools to make magic happen."

"The proper tools?" parroted Bilbo. After a moment, his brows dropped into a furrow. "But mama says that your tool for making magic is your staff…"

"Yes," admitted Gandalf. "Belladonna is quite right. I do use my staff in magic making, but only for the really big magic." He paused to draw thoughtfully on his pipe. Releasing the smoke in a simple dragonfly, he watched it fly away and begin to dissipate, before continuing, quite seriously, "I do not think you are quite ready to learn the big magic. Better to start small, eh?" He finished with a wink.

Bilbo nodded. "Papa says one can't learn everything in a day."

"Quite right," Gandalf agreed. "Now, if you're finished looking at that, there are still two more things that I need, and that's where you come in…"

Remembering the thing he held in his hands, Bilbo returned to studying it. "What is this part?"

"What does it appear to be?" countered Gandalf.

The young face crunched a bit with thought, as he ran his small fingers over the smooth surface and taped it once or twice. "Looks like copper," he answered hesitantly. "But I've never seen it rolled into a cylinder like this. Why did it need to be like that?"

"Excellent question, young Bilbo," lauded Gandalf. "I can see you have a keen mind." Bilbo grinned, as the wizard continued. "Study it a bit more and perhaps you can guess at why it needs to be like that."

Bilbo did as instructed. He rolled it back and forth in his fingers and then flipped it end over end. As it did so, an even smaller cylinder of solid metal peeked out from inside the copper. Bilbo tugged lightly on it, but, though more of it emerged, most of it remained hidden. "That explains why it is so heavy."

"Oh?" Gandalf encouraged, pleased with the child's observation.

Bilbo nodded. "The copper cylinder is hollow, so it should not weigh very much, but this," he said, grasping the end of the rod, "is solid iron. Why does it not fall out?"

Gandalf chuckled. "Because it is attached to the bottom, of course."

Bilbo nodded sagely, as though the answered had been quite profound, and handed the copper cylinder back to the wizard. "And this goes in there?" he inquired, nodding toward the clay pot.

"Bravo!" responded Gandalf. "You _are _a clever one."

"What are the last two things you need?" Bilbo replied, quite caught up in the "magic" now.

"We need a pitcher of lemonade and a cork stopper large enough to stop this jug," answered Gandalf.

Bilbo's eyebrows rose slightly. "That's all?" To which Gandalf nodded affirmatively. "But…but those are such ordinary things."

"Quite," replied Gandalf. "But sometimes ordinary things hide the very best magic…" Gandalf smiled as Bilbo seemed to shrug internally and then accept the answer. "Off you go now…"

And off he went, indeed. In a flash, he disappeared into the crowd, and then, seemingly only moments later returned, quite slowly, carrying a pitcher of lemonade almost too large for him to carry on his own. "Here you are!" he announced, splashing only a little on the table as Gandalf helped him set it down.

"And the cork?" Gandalf asked. Fishing it out of a trouser pocket, Bilbo set the cork on the table beside the jug. "Ah, thank you. Now we can start." Gandalf grinned as Bilbo edged closer to the jug and then backed away again, as if uncertain if it were safe to be near. "It's only small magic…" Gandalf reassured, and the small feet shuffled closer to the table.

"What do we do first," Bilbo asked.

"We've done first what we do first, already," replied Gandalf.

Bilbo made a face and then amended, "What do we do first now that we have all our tools?"

"Ah, yes, that it quite a different first," Gandalf acquiesced. "In that case, what do you guess we might do first?"

Bilbo barely paused before picking up the copper cylinder. "We put this in there?" he asked.

"A good guess," replied Gandalf, "but not quite." Bilbo frowned, but the wizard took no notice and simply continued, "You see, if we put the copper cylinder in first, then the lemonade will have to go inside the cylinder, but we want it inside the jar, instead."

Bilbo nodded, earnestly. "So we need to pour in the lemonade, but not to the top, because the cylinder will go in after?"

"Very good," acknowledged Gandalf. "You _are_ quite clever."

Bilbo flashed a bright grin, but it fell as he looked toward the cork stopper. "And this?" Gandalf merely raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and Bilbo tapped his nose with a finger, before adding. "I think perhaps the iron rod my need to come out the top, and something then is needed to keep it from slipping back down inside?"

"And why would you think that?" asked Gandalf.

"Well…" answered Bilbo, thoughtfully. "If it didn't need to stick out the top, it wouldn't need to be anchored to the bottom, for it would just sit inside cozily."

"Well done," lauded Gandalf.

"So we must push the rod through the stopper," confirmed Bilbo, eyeing both the rod and the stopper dubiously.

Gandalf laughed. "Never fear, lad, that's quite the simple job for a grown wizard." And in a moment, the job was done.

"So, actually, that was first," remarked Bilbo.

Gandalf chuckled. "It did not need to be, but it turned out to be. Things often happen differently than expected but turn out as planned."

"Second, then, we must pour in the lemonade." Again, Bilbo gazed dubiously at the pitcher. "It's quite heavy… Another job for a grown wizard, I think."

Gandalf nodded agreement, and soon the job was done.

"And now the cylinder," Bilbo stated, picking it up.

"This, I think, you might do," replied Gandalf. "With a little help…" Bilbo let out a started gasp as the wizard lifted him onto the table so that he could reach. "Be sure it's settled nice and snug."

Bilbo pressed the cork down with both hands, then pressed again, just to be sure. "Ready!" He grinned at Gandalf, then gazed expectedly at the jug, but nothing.

"Hmmm," murmured Gandalf. "It seems the magic needs a little poke." He raised a mischievous eyebrow at the child. "Let's see now, what was the correct wizard gesture… Ah, yes, I recall!" And with that the wizard began to vigorously rub his hands together. Instinctively, Bilbo mimicked the movement. "Would you like to go first?" Gandalf asked, stilling his hands. "You must just touch the iron, ever so lightly."

Bilbo edged back slightly, but then grinned and nodded. Stilling his hands, he then reached out a tentative finger and, quite gently and a little shakily, touched the iron rod. He started backward as a small, quick but bright, spark flashed from his fingertip. His gaze flicking between his finger and the iron, his expression shifted from shock to fear and then, finally delight, as he stuck his tingling fingertip in his mouth a moment, before exclaiming, "Now, you!"

Gandalf laughed out loud, before complying and lightly tapping the iron rod. A large spark flashed, and Bilbo's grinned broadened. Gandalf returned the grin and ruffled the child's curly head.

"What is this?"

Gandalf and Bilbo turned toward the voice simultaneously. "A magic spark, papa!" exclaimed Bilbo, as Bungo stepped up and mimicked Gandalf's ruffling of the child's head.

"A magic spark?" replied Bungo, skeptically. "It was quite a small spark…for magic."

Bilbo shrugged. "It is only small magic," he explained, sagely. "Afterall, we cannot learn everything in a day, can we?"

"Quite so," agreed Bungo, with a chuckled. "Off with you now, though," he added, lifted the boy off the table and settling him on the ground. "They'll be serving the food, soon."

Bilbo's stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and he smiled, abashedly, before waving farewell. "You must teach me more magic sometime, Gandalf!" he bade, as he dashed away in search of his mother and his plate.

Bungo sighed deeply, then turned to glower at the wizard. "You've lit a spark of curiosity in him; I trust it shan't lead him into trouble."

"Only the good kind of trouble," promised Gandalf, with a chuckle and a grin. Bungo nodded, and shaking his head ruefully, wandered after his boy.

The end.


End file.
